Saturday 23 March 2013 20.01 EDT
First published on Saturday 23 March 2013 20.01 EDT

The woman behind a host of bestselling West End shows over the past 30 years is worried about the future of the industry. Gillian Lynne, the doyenne of live dance as choreographer of Cats, The Phantom of The Opera and Aspects of Love, is to receive an Olivier award for lifetime achievement next month. She told the Observer she senses a growing threat to musical theatre from television. "It is a real problem for the West End," said the former classical ballerina. "Television, especially reality TV, is a danger because producers drop someone into a role who has been on television. It's not healthy. They want instant fame."

Recently, the Wizard of Oz, Chicago and Oliver! have all been promoted by using cast members known to TV audiences first, but it is a trend she decries.

At 87, Lynne is the most successful choreographer of several generations. The Olivier award will celebrate her contribution to theatre and a career she believes has been built ona commitment to her art and a dislike of shortcuts. In spite of a close working relationship with Lord Lloyd-Webber, who uses TV contests to pick out his new stage stars, Lynne fears the reliance on celebrities has undermined her craft.

Lynne worked most recently on the West End show Dear World, but her life in dance started in London's East End at the age of 16. Later, she danced with Sadler's Wells Ballet and at Covent Garden, before turning to acting, choreography and directing.

Her Olivier award means she joins an elite list of previous recipients, including Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Alan Ayckbourn. The ceremony in London will crown a career in which she has danced with both Frederick Ashton and Fred Astaire.

Her story has also become familiar since educationist Sir Ken Robinson used Lynne as an example in a talk given initially as part of a TED event, which has been downloaded more than 15m times. She was, said Robinson, a prime example of someone "who had to move to think" and who was wrongly labelled as having learning difficulties as a child.

Lynne danced the Black Queen in Checkmate, among other leading roles, at the Royal Opera House, where Dame Ninette de Valois picked her out as a rebel. "She thought I was a wild one," said Lynne, "but I worshipped Ninette."

Eventually, Lynne left Covent Garden, returning much later to choreograph and dance in opera interludes. In recent years, she has complained that the Royal Ballet has let its dancers forget the sensuality of dance. "It should not be vapid. It is a sexual thing," she said. "Margot had it. An earthiness and a personality. You have to make it come alive."

In the West End, where she appeared on stage with Dudley Moore and then worked with Anthony Newley on the revue show The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd, Lynne blossomed. "I have always had my own discipline and I like learning new things," she said.